Parts of town may be taxi no-go areas
TAXI owners are warning parts of Stockport could become no-go areas after a series of attacks on drivers.
In one of the latest attacks two men, who had posed as customers, forced a driver out of his vehicle at Totnes Avenue, Bramhall, on Saturday at 5am.
The robbers then stole his Skoda Octavia and drove off. The following day police arrested a 17-year-old in connection with this incident and two other similar ones in Bramhall on February 26 and 10.
Mark Kennedy, chairman of the Stockport Owner Drivers Association, says this has become a potential occupational hazard for his members.
But a more frequent problem is missiles being hurled at drivers, which is happening on a ‘daily’ basis in hotspots like Edgeley, Brinnington and Reddish.
Mr Kennedy said: “It certainly goes on, drivers have to risk assess the situation as once you are in the cab with passengers you are on your own and often outnumbered.
“If you don’t become savvy quite quickly you will find yourself with a whole lot of grief. But what we are suffering with greatly is missiles being thrown at cabs.
“It is happening on a daily basis in Stockport, you consider it a result if it hits the bodywork rather than smashing a window. We discussed it as our AGM in January.
“If it gets much worse some places will become no go areas and there will be more detailed routes to avoid them.”
Other problems that are increasing for drivers are people refusing to pay and bogus calls ordering taxis.
Police attended the January AGM and are said to be increasing patrols around problem areas. It is part of the operation targeting similar anti-social behaviour on buses.
Officers are appealing for witnesses and say one or more other people have been involved in the incidents.
A police spokesman said: “If anyone knows anything about this series of incidents or saw any of them please get in touch.
“We advise drivers where possible to get a contact number from customers that can be verified and pick up and drop off in busy, well-lit areas.”